Question About Water Changes

[Flipside]

Well, as some of you may already know, I have a 92 gallon corner tank.  My total water volume, including the sump and the refugium is more like 120 - 125 gallons, I'd say.  That's just a rough estimate based on when I had to empty out the sump, build up the refugium, drains, etc... into the new stand.  That being said...

I've heard a lot of different logics behind water changes.  Believe it or not, I actually know a guy who has a 200+ gallon system that hasn't changed any of his water for over 2 years!  He just tops off.  His corals "bling" too!  Weird, but I guess that goes to show you that some things work for some, and some things don't.

So, for the past couple of months, I've done pretty big water changes.  I have spaced them out 2-3 weeks apart.  I usually do a entire trash can full of saltwater (about 35g).  Recently I read that you should let your salt mix up for 24 hours (I believe it was H2-OWE's thread) so that the water has time to mature a bit... I haven't done this... I mix for about a couple of hours and just do it.

So, do you think I'm putting too much stress on my inhabitants by doing big water changes like this?  Should I just cut back to about 15g changes a week?  What is a good ratio to live by, and how far apart should I be doing water changes?

I guess the reason I'm asking is because some of my corals are doing good, and some seem to be losing their color (bleaching).  Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions!

[evil.konceptz]

I have a small system 29g tank no sump or fuge, with rock and sand I'm getting about ~24 gallons out of it.  I change 2 gallons of water twice a week monday nights and friday mornings I dose weds night with 1/4 dose of red sea success supplements.  I have perfect water quality, haven't experienced any problems, but I usually have my saltwater mixing all the time waiting for a change since I do them so often.  HTH

[H2-0WE]

Well, as some of you may already know, I have a 92 gallon corner tank.  My total water volume, including the sump and the refugium is more like 120 - 125 gallons, I'd say.  That's just a rough estimate based on when I had to empty out the sump, build up the refugium, drains, etc... into the new stand.  That being said...

I've heard a lot of different logics behind water changes.  Believe it or not, I actually know a guy who has a 200+ gallon system that hasn't changed any of his water for over 2 years!  He just tops off.  His corals "bling" too!  Weird, but I guess that goes to show you that some things work for some, and some things don't.

So, for the past couple of months, I've done pretty big water changes.  I have spaced them out 2-3 weeks apart.  I usually do a entire trash can full of saltwater (about 35g).  Recently I read that you should let your salt mix up for 24 hours (I believe it was H2-OWE's thread) so that the water has time to mature a bit... I haven't done this... I mix for about a couple of hours and just do it.

So, do you think I'm putting too much stress on my inhabitants by doing big water changes like this?  Should I just cut back to about 15g changes a week?  What is a good ratio to live by, and how far apart should I be doing water changes?

I guess the reason I'm asking is because some of my corals are doing good, and some seem to be losing their color (bleaching).  Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions!

I think in a pinch a short term mixing is ok, some salts have to be added slowly to the water or they will react and leave a pile of residue in the pail that should be getting mixed, really new salt mix is still full of very sharp bits of crystalline chemicals and could be pretty rough on tender tissue.
Another to me easier and really effective water change is do 1 gal a day or a bit less depending on your %, your probably in or at the tank every day anyway lol

[ScottV]

Hey, wow, a fellow OCD reefer!  Daily is the way to go if you really want to get down to it.  Less change and stress to your critters at any given time.  Hell, they will see the water change as part of their daily activity.  It really is easy if you just have some water always mixed up (good for emergencies to have SW mixed up).  But for more practical minded people the old rule of 10% weekly seems to work for most.  This does not mean 40% all at once monthly though!

[Hosser]

Just to clarify a little on the non water change deal.
A local guy here does the same thing , hasnt done one in over 2 years. However he doses EVERYTHING, seems like more of a pain in the but to me to be honest.

WC's really depend as well on what you have in your tank. A fully stocked reef vs a FOWLR with a couple fish doesnt have the same demands. ScottV is very right in that massive changes at one time can and will stress out, freak out or take out of a normal routine with your fish.
Personally I do one wc every other week of only 3-5 gallon on my 29.
The whole letting water sit 24 hours always confused me a bit because I dont see a chemical change in mixed water but yet just a disolving of salt......... that said H2OWE brings up a good point of making sure you thouroghly mix the water. Everyones tank is differant. Use all these as guidelines and get to know your own tank. What works for one may not work for another.

[michael]

i do 10% a week but occassionally miss a week, i always mix my salt up late on a thursday evening and put 2 powerheads in the bucket of freshly mixed salt and do the water change late friday evening or some times saturday mornings, lately ive done the odd sunday moring wc after mixing saturday morning but this is out of the norm, it works for me, as hoss mentioned, what works for 1 may not for another

edit, i cant spell,lol

[ScottV]

Well, Bob F has a saying "you do not need to ever flush your toilet either!".  It does work for some, but WC are always better. 

[H2-0WE]

Just to clarify a little on the non water change deal.
A local guy here does the same thing , hasnt done one in over 2 years. However he doses EVERYTHING, seems like more of a pain in the but to me to be honest.

WC's really depend as well on what you have in your tank. A fully stocked reef vs a FOWLR with a couple fish doesnt have the same demands. ScottV is very right in that massive changes at one time can and will stress out, freak out or take out of a normal routine with your fish.
Personally I do one wc every other week of only 3-5 gallon on my 29.
The whole letting water sit 24 hours always confused me a bit because I dont see a chemical change in mixed water but yet just a disolving of salt......... that said H2OWE brings up a good point of making sure you thouroghly mix the water. Everyones tank is differant. Use all these as guidelines and get to know your own tank. What works for one may not work for another.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php

An excellent guide for tank water

Do not add anything other than salt mix to the freshwater unless you determine, after mixing in the salt, that it is deficient in something important.  Add the salt and stir. Adding the salt before the water can be okay, but causes an unusually high salinity for the period when you are adding water, which can result in the formation of certain precipitates that may be hard to redissolve.



Overnight stirring with a powerhead is a good way to dissolve the salt, but shorter stirring can be okay, if done vigorously.  If you are using the saltwater for very small water changes (2% or less at once), you need not heat it.  If you want to add any calcium (I do), magnesium (I do), alkalinity (I don’t) or anything else (not recommended), add it after the salt has dissolved.  The overnight stirring will also help with aeration, which can be useful for some mixes that start with a high pH and need to pull in CO2 from the air to reach normal pH.  After aeration, the pH is determined only by the alkalinity and the ambient carbon dioxide level in the air.  It is not an attribute of the salt mix.  More details on pH will be covered in a future article.  Aeration also pulls in oxygen, if the starting freshwater was deficient in oxygen.

[Flipside]

Wow... lot's of interesting stuff.  I may try the 1g/day thing to see how that works.  That actually sounds pretty easy, and you're right... I've always got a little bit of time to sit and stare at the tank everyday.

[lance]

i'm one to do changes to my tanks when i feel like doing it...i've gone several months without doing one without any bad effects and only thing i dose is iodine

[michael]

Wow... lot's of interesting stuff.  I may try the 1g/day thing to see how that works.  That actually sounds pretty easy, and you're right... I've always got a little bit of time to sit and stare at the tank everyday.

some guys never water change at all, well they do but they replace water daily through evaporation and dose chemicals, some have a resevoir of salt water and they flush out 1-2% and replace with the resevoir salt water, something ive considered my self the latter

[H2-0WE]

Wow... lot's of interesting stuff.  I may try the 1g/day thing to see how that works.  That actually sounds pretty easy, and you're right... I've always got a little bit of time to sit and stare at the tank everyday.

some guys never water change at all, well they do but they replace water daily through evaporation and dose chemicals, some have a resevoir of salt water and they flush out 1-2% and replace with the resevoir salt water, something ive considered my self the latter

its a pity that contaminants dont evaporate too, not changing water is a wonderful dream but I think not so good over the long haul, Phenols become compounded, heavy metals accumulate and who knows what is left over from supplements and dosing, the ionic balance of the water at some point must reach a point of no return, I know the water change water I take out is too the eye, clearer than what goes in as NSW. A "big shocking water change" has its place too, when things become complacent in the tank, sometimes our tanks are way too stable, no big storms dumping salinity down, cold and hot currents flushing thru,etc. Basically off all the things we do in a tank, a proper water change by far is the best and safest thing we can do.

[ScottV]

Amen.

[Bonneville08]

I was under the impression that we mix and aerate our new saltwater because some of the minerals in the mix are not quite as soluble as the actual salt. I mix new water after every change and keep twice as much as I need for a WC on hand at all times.
Russ